PRI 2011: Lincoln Electric’s Plasma Cutter With Portability

Lincoln Electric ^[1] has got you covered across the board, whether you are joining or cutting metal, in the shop or on the road. We stopped by their booth at the 2011 PRI tradeshow in Orlando to find out what was the latest and greatest metal working tool from the creative minds at Lincoln Electric.

We talked with company representative Lou Kleinsmith, who led us over to their new line of plasma cutters. According to Kleinsmith, “Lincoln has a base product line of three very unique plasma cutters for the automotive industry. From the hobbyist and racer, who may need a smaller portable unit, to the professional fabricator that needs something with a little more cutting power, there’s a Lincoln Plasma cutter to fit your needs.”

Kleinsmith showed us the Tomahawk 375 cutter that features an onboard internal air compressor, which makes it perfect for racers that want to take their plasma cutter with them on the road. The Tomahawk 375 is rated to a 3/8 inch maximum cut at 14 inches per minute. “Perfect for portable cutting of mild steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass or copper,” said Kleinsmith.

Next up was the Tomahawk 625 which requires an external air source to provide 5/8 inch maximum cuts at 12 inches per minute. “What these units bring to the table is a cooler operation which extends the life of your consumables like torch tips,” says Kleinsmith.

Kleinsmith then took us over to the king-of-the-hill in the Tomahawk product line, the Tomahawk 1000. Available with either a handheld torch or a machine torch, for plasma cutting and gouging mild steel, brass, stainless steel, copper and aluminum. The unit uses what Lincoln calls “PowerConnect Technology” which automatically senses and adjusts to input power from 200 to 600 volts in either single of three phase, 50 or 60 hertz. According to Kleinsmith, “this cutter uses continuous output control to focus the arc for different material thicknesses.”

Like the other Lincoln Electric Plasma cutters, the Tomahawk 1000 operates cooler to extend the life of consumables, which saves you money in the long run by less frequent replacement of nozzles and electrodes, and uses the Lincoln “Touch Start” system. Kleinsmith told us that the touch start system “initiates the plasma arc without high frequency signals.”

Another key feature in the Tomahawk 1000 is the ability to set the air flow rate without initiating the plasma arc through the front panel purge control. The unit will even detect correct installation of the consumables and torch through the “Parts-in-place” system, which adds an extra element of safety to the operation. Compatible with engine drives and CNC or Robotic Plasma cutting, the Tomahawk 1000 can be operated remotely or as part of a fast and reliable production cutting cell with the use of the machine torch.

All of the Lincoln Electric plasma cutting systems are portable enough to be used on the jobsite by simply hooking up compressed air, grabbing the torch and pulling the trigger.